The most important $11,123 in the software business?

Where does the Free desktop come from? Well,
let's see...

Company builds expensive server OS for large corporate
customers such as banks. The Enterprise OS has
to have some kind of desktop, just so admins who
need/prefer a GUI can administer it, and people can
use an alternate build of that.

Programmer scratches own itch, and the resulting
software also works for others.

Company A takes a potshot at Company B's cash cow
by releasing free software that B's customers
can threaten to use when negotiating on price.
Some people actually use it.

Bubbly startup has one of those "(1) Release free
software, (2) ???, (3) Profit" business models,
and leaves behind some useful software.

This might be an exception to the rule that "all
free software business models are already in the Some
Easily Rebutted Objections to GNU's Goals section
of the GNU Manifesto." The closest I can see is,
"Users with related needs can form users' groups,
and pay dues. A group would contract with programming
companies to write programs that the group's members
would like to use." Close but no cigar.

Blender
still holds the record for biggest crowdfunded
software project, as far as I know, but that was for releasing an
existing codebase from creditors, not a new project.